La Pulga
La Pulga Tequila — the Fort Worth-based, Jalisco-made spirit with deep cultural roots and bold flavor — has officially landed in Colorado. As of this summer, the award-winning line of premium, additive-free tequilas is now available in bars, restaurants, and retail stores across the state. It marks a major milestone for one of Texas’s fastest-growing agave brands, born not in a corporate boardroom but in a North Side flea market.
“We built this for everyone — a high-quality tequila that doesn’t price people out,” says co-founder Andrew De La Torre. “Colorado was the next step.”
La Pulga’s story began in Cowtown, where De La Torre, restaurateur Sarah Castillo (Tinie’s, Taco Heads), and developer Stephen Slaughter came together over a shared love of tequila — and a frustration with what they saw on the shelf. The good stuff was expensive. The cheap stuff was filled with additives. There wasn’t a brand that honored tradition while still feeling accessible. So they made their own.
They started with a handful of visits to Mexico’s Los Altos region, where highland agave grows in mineral-rich volcanic soil. There, they partnered with a small distillery producing some of the cleanest, most expressive tequilas they’d ever tasted. Working with a master tequilero, they developed a clean, nuanced flavor profile and bottled it with a distinctive look — each bottle sealed with a cork and adorned with a keepsake medallion that nods to heritage and craft.
Back home, they named the brand after something deeply local: La Pulga — the beloved, open-air flea market at 960 N University Drive, where generations of Northside families have gathered on weekends to shop, eat, dance, and connect.
“La Pulga is a term of endearment,” says De La Torre. “This place has been part of Fort Worth’s cultural fabric for decades. When COVID hit and it was on the verge of being torn down, I couldn’t let that happen.”
Stephen Montoya
From left, Andrew De La Torre and Sarah Castillo.
Rather than let the space disappear, the founders launched a two-part plan: build a tequila brand that celebrates culture and craftsmanship, and eventually transform the 12-acre market into a working agave spirits distillery that preserves the market’s original spirit. The market would stay open. The community would remain. But with a new layer of purpose: making something that lasts.
And people responded. In North Texas, La Pulga Tequila quickly found its way into cocktail bars, restaurants, and home collections alike. It wasn’t just a bottle — it was a story. One rooted in family, hustle, and pride.
Now, through a distribution deal with Republic National Distributing Company (RNDC), La Pulga is bringing its tequila — and its story — to a new generation of drinkers in Colorado. And while the market is new, the approach stays the same: clean, additive-free spirits that respect agave and the people who drink it.
“La Pulga is about connection,” says CEO Alan Thompson. “It’s about sharing something that’s real. That resonates, whether you’re in Fort Worth or Fort Collins.”
So the next time you raise a glass of La Pulga — whether it’s Blanco, Reposado, or Añejo — you’re not just tasting tequila. You’re tasting an idea born on a corner of the North Side, where music, food, and family still fill the air every weekend.
You’re tasting Fort Worth.
